As Swift announces a new album and Kelce embarks on a new NFL season, the couple brings their audiences together
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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce avoided mixing their businesses until this week, when the pair kicked off both a new album rollout and a new NFL season simultaneously. Photo: TheStewartofNY/GC Images
By Elias Leight – Aug. 12, 2025 5:30 pm ET – The Wall Street Journal
Since they started dating in 2023, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have openly supported each other’s careers. She’s a fixture in the stands at Kansas City Chiefs games; he traveled the world with her during her record-breaking Eras Tour.
But America’s most famous couple has avoided mixing their businesses until this week, when the pair kicked off both a new album rollout and a new NFL season simultaneously.
On Wednesday, Swift will appear on Kelce’s hit podcast, “New Heights”—co-hosted by his brother Jason—to discuss her upcoming album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” She announced the release on her website at 12:12 a.m. on Tuesday morning; Kelce’s GQ cover launched the same day.
“The fact that she’s going on her boyfriend’s massive podcast to promote a new album makes total sense,” says Eric Silver, a podcast producer. “These celebrity podcasts are replacing late-night TV.” And while football fandom is concentrated in the U.S., Swift’s large—and international—following continues to boost awareness of Kelce; a joke that the singer put the football star “on the map” is popular on TikTok.
The rollout for Swift’s new album also shows the increasingly central role of celebrity-driven video content, which has largely supplanted TV shows and print media in the cultural mainstream. The teaser for the upcoming “New Heights” episode has already earned more than 8 million views on X. “It definitely took over the internet last night,” says Courtney Bissinger, a 30-year-old Swift fan.
In the teaser, Swift hauls out a briefcase that contains a copy of her new album on vinyl; Jason Kelce bellows enthusiastically in response. Though “The Life of a Showgirl” is available for preorder, it does not have a release date as of Tuesday. Fans are hoping that the singer will unveil the date and the album cover on “New Heights.”
The Kelce brothers launched their podcast in 2022 to discuss football, conduct interviews, joke and riff. “Travis and Jason are a hoot and their personalities are infectious,” Bissinger says.
Like many Swift fans, Bissinger started listening to “New Heights” when the singer and Kelce made their relationship public in the fall of 2023. That December, the podcast’s weekly reach quadrupled, and the portion of female listeners jumped from 32% to 50%, according to Edison Research.
In 2024, the Kelce brothers landed a deal with Amazon’s podcast company Wondery worth more than $100 million. Edison reports that the show reached roughly 2.5 million Americans a week in the second quarter of 2025.
Those numbers are expected to balloon for Swift’s episode. “It wouldn’t surprise me if this became the biggest podcast episode on YouTube,” says Tom Webster, a partner at Sounds Profitable.
Swift and Kelce are hardly the first megastar couple to work together to mutual benefit. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a production company, Archewell Productions. Beyoncé and Jay-Z followed a joint album with a co-headlining stadium tour.
“I always dreamed that Taylor would appear as a special guest [on the podcast ’New Heights’] eventually, but I didn’t think she would do it this unexpectedly,” Bissinger says. “Taylor truly knows how to keep everyone on their toes.”
Swift has previously relied on old-school media platforms to launch new albums. She announced “Midnights” at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2024, when “Midnights” won the Grammy award for best pop vocal album, Swift used her acceptance speech to reveal “a secret”: She planned to release “The Tortured Poets Department” imminently.
But TV’s relevance has been waning. “As traditional media is losing its impact on culture, people have really shifted to podcasting to tell their stories,” says Max Cutler, a former Spotify executive and the founder of Pave Studios.
Since they started dating, Swift and Kelce have openly supported each other’s careers. She’s a fixture in the stands at Kansas City Chiefs games; he traveled with her during her Eras Tour. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Young viewers especially are more likely to spend time on YouTube and short-form video platforms, and video podcasts can be quickly sliced and diced into little clips that zip around TikTok and Instagram Reels.
“The right podcast is more effective at reaching people than late-night [shows] or editorial looks,” says Alec Henderson, head of marketing at the label Artist Partner Group.
Swift’s announcement of her 12th album marks the end of an unusually long waiting period for her fans. She had been releasing music at a torrid pace, putting out eight albums—both new projects and “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings of her early works—between July 2020 and April 2024.
Then came the quiet after the storm: More than 15 months have elapsed since Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department.” She wrapped up the Eras Tour in December.
Even without a new release, the star commanded the world’s attention in May, when she announced that she had achieved a long-cherished goal by acquiring the master recordings of her first six albums.
Swift’s fans cheered the purchase. “I felt like she was my close personal friend, and I was so excited for her,” says Ana Szabo, who co-hosts a podcast dedicated to the singer.
Szabo has only listened to one full episode of “New Heights” in the past, but she will tune in on Wednesday evening for Swift’s appearance.
“I’ve been screaming for the last 13 hours,” she says. “They are such a power couple.”
Write to Elias Leight at elias.leight@wsj.com
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